Hard over soft power

Hard over soft power

For writing this essay, please read Thomas Schelling. “The Diplomacy of Violence,” in Arms and Influence. pp. 1-34.

Then answer these questions:

The United States has traditionally wielded both “soft” and “hard” power. Soft power generally comes from the diplomatic arm of the U.S. government, most notably represented by the Department of State. Hard power comes from the military arm of the U.S. government, most notably the Department of Defense. President Trump has made it clear that he intends to significantly reduce the budget (and influence) of the DoS and increase the budget of the DoD.

At the same time, President Xi Jinping of China has greatly increased his government’s investment in Chinese soft power abroad: (investing in international infrastructure projects, implementing international aid programs, promoting Chinese language and educational exchanges, etc.)

1. Identify and analyze two reasons why Trump might be pursuing hard over soft power.

2. Identify and analyze two reasons why President Xi might be increasingly investing in soft power.

3. Which country is likely to gain more influence internationally as a result of their investments in different forms of power, and why? Please support your answer with as much evidence as possible.

Here is paper instruction:

1. Who are the main actors?

2. What are they attempting to maximize?

3. What actions/strategies do they have at their disposal?

4. What are their beliefs about how their opponent is likely to respond?

5. What is the best set of actions to take given how you believe your opponent will respond?

6. This paper must to be written in essay form. This means that your answers should take the form of arguments organized into coherent paragraphs addressing each part of the “Assignment Questions” for the topic of interest.

7. There must be clearly stated argument or arguments

8. support the argument(s) well with evidence/sources.

9. answer all the questions asked in the memo topic.

Quotation:

Yes, you must quote 4 sources, two from article that I submit (with page number), and 2 outside sources. You can only quote from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Financial Times, and the Guardian.

Use the quotation as your evidence to support your argument, also explain your quote.

Each quotation no more than 3 sentences.

After all, no more than 3 pages.